


Not My Type

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: Pride Prompts 2020 [12]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Coming Out, DS9, F/M, Fluff, Gay Pride, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, M/M, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24874774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Julian helps the reader dye her hair rainbow for a pride event in Quark's and she returns the favour by getting Garak to agree to go with Julian.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak, julian bashir & reader
Series: Pride Prompts 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768873
Kudos: 26





	Not My Type

If there was one benefit of having a galaxy class surgeon as a best friend, it was his perfectly steady hands. There were no better stylists in the quadrant than surgeons with a particularly artistic streak. Julian's natural flare at hairdressing was perhaps one of the best kept secrets in the fleet. 

As he applied the bright dye to your hair, strand by colourful strand, Julian asked, "So, who are you taking to the party tonight?"

"You know Sasha? She works with Miles in Engineering."

Julian nodded. "Ah yes. Her brother's been kicking around the station for a few weeks, hasn't he? You two will make a good match."

"No, Julian. I'm not going with Jak."

"Shame. He's a great guy. Fantastic knowledge on the Great Wars of Trexalon Six. Lovely hands, too." 

If you didn't know better, you might think that Julian was jealous of your imaginary date. Thinking about it, Jak and Julian probably would make a pretty good couple. However there was one thing that Jak didn't have going in his favour: he wasn't a tall, mysterious, scaly ex-assassin. Without those specific traits, he stood no chance with your desperately pining friend. 

Shaking your head, you said, "I'm sure his hands are lovely but he's not really my type."

"What do you mean? He's amaz-" Julian's deft fingers slowed to a stop as realisation spread across his face. "Not your type as in too tall or…?"

Prompting his revelation, you nodded as much as you could without smearing the rainbow dye across the back of the chair. In a singsong voice, you said, "You're almost there."

"And when you mentioned Sasha you really meant..."

"There you go."

A dazzling smile spread across Julian's face. You hadn't really expected that he'd react any other way, really. It was one of those things that he probably knew but it had never been important enough to confirm out loud. "So, women."

"Yeah. _Women._ " 

"How long?"

"Pretty much my whole life. My first crush was this gorgeous Vulcan and - Oh, you meant with Sasha? Well, we've been on a few dates and she's amazing. She's funny and quick witted and you should hear her impression of the Chief. Julian, are you even listening to me?"

It quickly became clear that he was paying you absolutely no attention. You followed his gaze out the door to the Promenade to where one particular Cardassian was lingering against the wall, arms folded, gaze dripping with paranoia, in an obvious attempt to be noticed. Honestly, the pair of them were such idiots. 

Turning to Julian, you said, "What about those lizards, huh? Gotta love their scales."

"Yeah, yeah. Wait, what?" His eyes went comically wide and the bright red dye splattered across the infirmary floor as he dropped the brush. Scrambling around the floor, completely void of any of the decorum you'd expect from the Chief Medical Officer, Julian mumbled, "I don't know what you mean, Lieutenant."

"Bullshit. Ask him to go to Quark's tonight."

"It's really not Garak's idea of fun."

"Let him bring a knife and tell him there's a Cardassian informant lurking around. He gets to stab an innocent bystander and you get to fanboy over him playing spy. I'm joking!" The problem with that suggestion was that Garak would absolutely go along with it, even when he realised it was a joke, because he was that kind of person. And Julian would hang off of every pretentious word like the love sick fool he was. 

Shaking your head, you sighed, "Julian, Garak would do anything for his dear doctor."

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

A burning blush crept up Julian's neck, warming his cheeks in a way that no Cardassian could resist. Cleaning the dye brush, he dipped it into another colour of dye - a greenish blue shade that reminded you of a particularly friendly Orion you'd known at the Academy - and began to paint another strand of your hair. 

"You are adorably oblivious." 

It was clear that if anything was ever going to happen between the pair that you needed to step up in your role as best friend and stick your nose in where it didn't belong. Catching his eye, you gave a little wave and called, "Garak! Can you spare a minute?"

He wasted no time in crossing the Promenade, a spring in his step as he literally jumped at the opportunity to be near the doctor. Offering you a polite smile, Garak nodded at you both. "Lieutenant, you look like an Alfa-177 canine threw up over your head."

"Oh, charming!"

"In the best way, my dear." You responded with a dry smile, well accustomed to Garak's particularly sharp sense of humour. "What occasion calls for such a dramatic recolouring?"

"Quark's having a party tonight. Are you going?"

Garak's gaze shifted towards Quark's bar, lingering on the shadows as he searched for enemies which weren't there. His attention returned to Julian, who busied himself with your hair, actively avoiding participation in this, and then the Cardassian finally looked back at you as he recalled that it was you that asked him the question. "That depends. What is this one supposedly in aid of, other than his own greed?"

"Pride." Met with confusion, you explained, "It's an old Earth tradition. We celebrate being ourselves - specifically being gay, trans, non-binary, etc. All the things that weren't the 'norm' back in the day."

"And what day would that be?"

"Long before First Contact. Twentieth, twenty-first century."

"Unenlightened times, indeed. How novel, to celebrate such an antiquated tradition."

You shrugged. It probably wasn't best to bring up the fact that certain Cardassian celebrations stemmed back millennia and were rooted in similar circumstances to Pride. "It was important back then. The community had to fight for their rights and respect. Humans weren't always so accepting."

Garak shot you a look which clearly read: _And you believe that things have changed now?_ It was a frequent point of contention between you all, a common debate over your morning Raktajinos. 

Before he could pull you into another friendly argument, you asked, "So, are you coming or not?"

"Are you, Doctor?"

Unable to ignore him any longer, Julian finally glanced up from your rainbow hair. With questionable confidence, he muttered, "Well, I… Yes. I had planned to go."

"In that case, I shall see you both there." 

It took almost all of your self control not to roll your eyes at his blatant meaning. If not for the fact that you'd pointed it out to Julian just minutes before, you supposed that the doctor would have somehow still missed Garak's intention. They truly were ridiculous. 

The silence swelled in the infirmary and for the first time you found their open staring at one another quite uncomfortable indeed. Quicker on the uptake than anyone else on the station, Garak sensed the shift and nodded a silent farewell. He strode away - more like a strut, and you both knew that Julian was staring very intently at his arse - but paused at the threshold. "Are bright colours a part of the dress code?" 

"Yep," you answered. "And it's also customary to buy your doctor a drink."

He hummed, not quite sure whether to believe you or not. There were far stranger traditions across the galaxy but Garak was astute enough to know when someone was taking the piss out of him. He shot you a dark glare that only succeeded in making you laugh. "In that case, I must go and create myself a colourful suit. Lieutenant. Doctor."

"You are incorrigible," Julian groaned as Garak disappeared from view. 

"Come on. You can't tell me that you aren't just a little bit excited to see him sporting a rainbow? I'm sure it will bring out his eyes."

"Of course it will. Now, sit still and let me finish. We've still got three more colours to go."


End file.
